UM System President Tim Wolfe said in a letter to faculty members that it is up to individual faculty members to decide whether they want to share their syllabuses.

"As owners of this property, it is at your discretion whether you provide your syllabi to them," he said in the letter. "Our denial of the request is based on the premise that it would not be appropriate for the university to provide the syllabi without the consent of the affected faculty members."

In the letter, Wolfe said the National Council on Teacher Quality proposed that the syllabuses be provided under a confidentiality agreement. The UM System denied the request and proposed sharing only syllabuses of faculty members who did not object.

*The civil complaint was filed in Boone County Circuit Court on Monday after an agreement between the two could not be reached.

The advisory council requested the syllabuses to evaluate teacher education programs at the system's four campuses. In the evaluation, schools are assigned a grade ranging from A through F based on criteria including admissions, coursework, licensing exams and student teaching placement.

Arthur McKee, managing director of teacher preparation studies for the council, said he is confident the advisory council will eventually obtain the syllabuses.

The report is scheduled to be published early next year in cooperation with the U.S. News & World Report.